Up & Coming Weekly

6 UCW NOVEMBER 11-17, 2009 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARGARET DICKSON, State Representative and Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or call 919-733-5776 or email MARGARETD@NCLEG.NET Fall Out From the Great Recession by MARGARET DICKSON As the mother of three young adults with friends who regularly grace us with their presence, I am aware of and interested in their progress into "real life." Each of them is in some stage of preparing for, seeking or actually entering the working world and starting to build their careers. Some are still in school, some are already working, but more than any of us would like are, as we say politely, between jobs. To put it bluntly, they are unemployed. Many of them are well educated and sporting promising resumes, but unemployed nonetheless. A recent New York Times op/ed piece by Bob Herbert on this very topic caught my eye. "Welcome," Herbert says, "to the new world of employment as we approach the second decade of the 21st century." By that, he means a world where young people just starting out, traditionally a time of great excitement and optimism, a time of building skills and relationships and of learning about the larger world, are setting forth in part-time jobs, in unpaid internships and apprenticeships, and otherwise cobbling together an income stream from several jobs. This, of course, is a great deal for employers who might be struggling in the Great Recession, but it is a real downer for the young people whose worlds are turning out to be nothing like what they expected. In this age of instant communication and instant feedback, Herbert and the Times got an earful of immediate responses to the column. They reveal the disappointment of these young adults and a considerable cynicism from many corners. Here is a sampling. A writer in Japan says, "Pack it up new college grads — and head abroad. Just about whatever part of the world for which you are curious — you can get a job teaching English." Someone in California had this to say: "And, note, many of these kids are graduating with gobs of educational loan debt. Unemployed myself for one and a half years at the age of 52 with two Ivy League degrees, I'm beginning to wonder if we've reached the end of one American dream. What will be the next one?" And this from Minneapolis: "Ever since I fi rst heard of them while in graduate school at an Ivy League institution 30 years ago, unpaid internships have always seemed like a way to limit certain jobs to the affl uent. When national media, brokerage fi rms and major corporations offer unpaid, full-time internships, often in expensive cities like New York and Washington, that's the same as saying, "No one middle class or below need apply…." I can see where struggling non-profi t charities might have legitimate need for unpaid interns, but when a major corporation or agency hires unpaid interns for full-time work, it ought to be penalized for violating the wage and hour laws." Someone in Vancouver, British Columbia is truly offended by the situation. "Am I the only person to fi nd seven fi gure bonuses repulsive while these young people work for free?" Another comment along those lines from someone in the west: "And the banks, given billions of taxpayer dollars in bailouts, and further subsidized with 0 percent government money to loan, if they are lending at all, are lending at 20 percent or more, to people scraping to get by, scraping to fi nd more work. Thieves." Tom from Indiana, who describes himself as a recent college graduate, adds this: "….For those unconvinced that recent college grads need help, realize that it is our demographic that is most likely to spend money on the essentials and amenities. We're not saving for retirement; we're looking to strike out on our own, and if employers give us a chance we can prove our worth, and take the money that they pay us and put it right back into the economy. All we need is for someone to throw us a line." And this sad and cynical response from the self-description of "Nobody, Nowhere:""Well, there's always the drug business. Lots of money to be made. Lots of excitement for young people. International travel if you play it right. And as long as we have a government supported 'war on drugs' there will be plenty of demand." Herbert closes his column on the effects of the Great Recession on young people this way. "These recent graduates have done everything society told them to do. They've worked hard, kept their noses clean and gotten a good education….They are ready and anxious to work. If we're having trouble fi nding employment for even these kids, then we're doing something profoundly wrong." Well said, Mr. Herbert. Well said. 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